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1 Samuel 3 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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The Prophetic Call to Samuel

3 Now (A)the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord before Eli. And (B)word from the Lord was rare in those days; [a]visions were infrequent.

2 But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now (C)his eyesight had begun to be [b]poor and he could not see well), 3 and (D)the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was, 4 that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “(E)Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son, go back and lie down.” 7 (F)Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. 8 So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Then the Lord came and stood, and called as at the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, (G)I am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring. 12 On that day (H)I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken in regard to his house, from beginning to end. 13 For (I)I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for (J)the wrongdoing that he knew, because (K)his sons were bringing a curse on themselves and (L)he did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that (M)the wrongdoing of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”

15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he (N)opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell (O)the vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. (P)May God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!” 18 So Samuel told him [c]everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “(Q)He is the Lord; let Him do [d]what seems good to Him.”

19 Now (R)Samuel grew, and (S)the Lord was with him, and He (T)let none of his words [e]fail. 20 And all Israel (U)from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And (V)the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, (W)because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 3:1 Lit there was no vision spreading
  2. 1 Samuel 3:2 Lit dim
  3. 1 Samuel 3:18 Lit all the words
  4. 1 Samuel 3:18 Lit the good in His eyes
  5. 1 Samuel 3:19 Lit fall to the ground

Cross references

  1. 1 Samuel 3:1 : 1 Sam 2:11, 18
  2. 1 Samuel 3:1 : Ps 74:9; Ezek 7:26; Amos 8:11, 12
  3. 1 Samuel 3:2 : Gen 27:1; 48:10; 1 Sam 4:15
  4. 1 Samuel 3:3 : Ex 25:31-37; Lev 24:2, 3
  5. 1 Samuel 3:4 : Is 6:8
  6. 1 Samuel 3:7 : Acts 19:2; 1 Cor 13:11
  7. 1 Samuel 3:11 : 2 Kin 21:12; Jer 19:3
  8. 1 Samuel 3:12 : 1 Sam 2:27-36
  9. 1 Samuel 3:13 : 1 Sam 2:29-31
  10. 1 Samuel 3:13 : 1 Sam 2:22
  11. 1 Samuel 3:13 : 1 Sam 2:12, 17, 22
  12. 1 Samuel 3:13 : Deut 17:12; 21:18
  13. 1 Samuel 3:14 : Lev 15:31; Is 22:14
  14. 1 Samuel 3:15 : 1 Chr 15:23
  15. 1 Samuel 3:15 : 1 Sam 3:10
  16. 1 Samuel 3:17 : 2 Sam 3:35
  17. 1 Samuel 3:18 : Ex 34:5-7; Lev 10:3; Job 2:10; Is 39:8
  18. 1 Samuel 3:19 : 1 Sam 2:21
  19. 1 Samuel 3:19 : Gen 21:22; 28:15; 39:2
  20. 1 Samuel 3:19 : 1 Sam 9:6
  21. 1 Samuel 3:20 : Judg 20:1
  22. 1 Samuel 3:21 : Gen 12:7
  23. 1 Samuel 3:21 : 1 Sam 3:10

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3 And the youth Samuel is serving Jehovah before Eli, and the word of Jehovah hath been precious in those days -- there is no vision broken forth. 2 And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Eli is lying down in his place, and his eyes have begun to be dim -- he is not able to see. 3 And the lamp of...
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3 Forsooth the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious; in those days was none open revelation (for in those days there was no open revelation). 2 Therefore it was done in a day, Eli lay in his bed, and his eyes dimmed, and he might not see; (And so it w...
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1 Samuel 3 - World English Bible (WEB)

3 The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahweh’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then. 2 At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see), 3 and God’s lamp hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid...
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1 Samuel 3 - The Voice (VOICE)

3 The boy Samuel continued to serve the Eternal One under the guidance of Eli. In those days, messages from the Eternal were rare, and sacred dreams or visions were given to very few. 2 Eli, who was very old, had become almost blind. He was lying in his room; 3 it was late at night but before dawn ...
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1 Samuel 3 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Calling of Samuel3 Now the boy Samuel was in the service of Adonai under Eli. In those days the word of Adonai was rare—there were no visions breaking through. 2 One day, Eli was lying down in his place—now his eyes had grown dim so that he could not see, 3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out...
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1 Samuel 3 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity3 [a]Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place; 3...
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1 Samuel 3 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place; 3 th...
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1 Samuel 3 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of G...
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1 Samuel 3 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.(A)2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;(B)3 the lamp o...
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1 Samuel 3 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The Lord Speaks to Samuel3 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. 2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleep...
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1 Samuel 3 - New Life Version (NLV)

Samuel’s Call3 Now the boy Samuel was working for the Lord with Eli. There were few words from the Lord given in those days, and there were not many special dreams. 2 At that time Eli was lying down in his own place. His eyes had become weak and he could not see well. 3 The lamp of God had not gon...
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1 Samuel 3 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Samuel’s First Prophecy3 Now (A)the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And (B)the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow (C)so dim that he ...
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1 Samuel 3 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The Lord calls Samuel3 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out...
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1 Samuel 3 - New International Version (NIV)

The Lord Calls Samuel3 The boy Samuel ministered(A) before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare;(B) there were not many visions.(C) 2 One night Eli, whose eyes(D) were becoming so weak that he could barely see,(E) was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp(F) of God had...
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1 Samuel 3 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Lord Calls Out to Samuel3 The boy Samuel served the Lord under the direction of Eli. In those days the Lord didn’t give many messages to his people. He didn’t give them many visions. 2 One night Eli was lying down in his usual place. His eyes were becoming so weak he couldn’t see very well. 3 S...
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1 Samuel 3 - New English Translation (NET)

The Call of Samuel3 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision.[a] Receiving a message from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent. 2 Eli’s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, ...
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